INFERNAL AFFAIRS
Cast: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Eric Tsang...
Director: Andrew Lau and Alan Mak
Writer: Felix Chong and Alan Mak
Review Date: 09/25/04
Written By: Suj
Rating: 10/10
THE PLOT:
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
THE REVIEW:
The essential premise is nothing new, but the overall outcome is truly extraordinary. On one side you have the Cops and on the other you have the Triads and the twist of this story is that each group was able to place their own mole within the ranks of the other.
You have two young men whom both made their way through the ranks at about the same time, each having the goal to become a trusted member of the group. Also to keep tabs on the happenings of their duped new contemporaries and report back to their superior to whom are the only ones who know of their true identities and purpose. Ming (Andy Lau) is the Triad mole within the Police Department and Yan (Tony Leung) is the counterpart enlisted by the Cops to infiltrate the Triads. After years go by both men quicky climb up the ranks in their respective organizations, with Ming looking forward to another promotions while Yan becomes one of Sam's (the Triad boss) most trusted enforcers. But, as each man gets older, both feel trapped by their false identities, yearning to break free of their emotional prisons. The kicker of this flick starts off when a drug bust goes awry south and each side discovers their’s a mole among them and from that both sides put up their most trusted man (Ming and Yan) to seek out the infiltrator. But the truth of the matter is that the person they need to find is themselves.
To make a good movie you got to have your cast bring their grade A performances and for "Infernal Affairs" the two leads in Andy Lau and Tony Leung bring forth some of the most entertaining performances of the year. Each played their respected roles as theses double agents with pin-point accuracy. The troublesome lives they lead are slowly and painfully eating away their soul. Leung’s facial expressions are so full of emotion that you can utterly feel his anguish as he struggles to fight his urges to become a triad. Andy succeeds with subtlety. He wants so much to change his ways that he’ll do anything to cover his tracks. This is where the plot takes the whole cat and mouse game to a whole new level. The story plays around with the characters in a way that they begin to question themselves and their beliefs. Will they change or will they follow the narrow, dark path fate has chosen for them?
If your looking for one of those action packed crime caper flicks go straight to your local video store walk up to the clerk look directly into his or her eyes and say "give me anything with Jean Claude Van Dame!". But if looking for gem of a movie, Infernal Affairs is it. Even though you won’t see Andy and Tony in an all out shoot out nor display Van Dame like kicks instead you will be on the edge of your seat and experience a thriller that pushes the limits of the duality of man, a struggle of the human soul and the distinctive perception of two different colliding worlds. And that’s what makes movies like this work and make em that damn good as the people behind this flick kept the story fresh and exciting by adding texture and making it as much about Ming and Yan’s psychological states as it is about the action.
What starts off with two tragic heroes vying for respect in their world ends in a showdown of two willing survivors battling not for supremacy, but for adequacy and an identity. “Infernal Affairs” is a conglomerate of outstanding performances and a fresh take on an old idea. To sum it all up would to just basically say that it is a masterpiece of true cinema unleashed.
Director: Andrew Lau and Alan Mak
Writer: Felix Chong and Alan Mak
Review Date: 09/25/04
Written By: Suj
Rating: 10/10
THE PLOT:
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
THE REVIEW:
The essential premise is nothing new, but the overall outcome is truly extraordinary. On one side you have the Cops and on the other you have the Triads and the twist of this story is that each group was able to place their own mole within the ranks of the other.
You have two young men whom both made their way through the ranks at about the same time, each having the goal to become a trusted member of the group. Also to keep tabs on the happenings of their duped new contemporaries and report back to their superior to whom are the only ones who know of their true identities and purpose. Ming (Andy Lau) is the Triad mole within the Police Department and Yan (Tony Leung) is the counterpart enlisted by the Cops to infiltrate the Triads. After years go by both men quicky climb up the ranks in their respective organizations, with Ming looking forward to another promotions while Yan becomes one of Sam's (the Triad boss) most trusted enforcers. But, as each man gets older, both feel trapped by their false identities, yearning to break free of their emotional prisons. The kicker of this flick starts off when a drug bust goes awry south and each side discovers their’s a mole among them and from that both sides put up their most trusted man (Ming and Yan) to seek out the infiltrator. But the truth of the matter is that the person they need to find is themselves.
To make a good movie you got to have your cast bring their grade A performances and for "Infernal Affairs" the two leads in Andy Lau and Tony Leung bring forth some of the most entertaining performances of the year. Each played their respected roles as theses double agents with pin-point accuracy. The troublesome lives they lead are slowly and painfully eating away their soul. Leung’s facial expressions are so full of emotion that you can utterly feel his anguish as he struggles to fight his urges to become a triad. Andy succeeds with subtlety. He wants so much to change his ways that he’ll do anything to cover his tracks. This is where the plot takes the whole cat and mouse game to a whole new level. The story plays around with the characters in a way that they begin to question themselves and their beliefs. Will they change or will they follow the narrow, dark path fate has chosen for them?
If your looking for one of those action packed crime caper flicks go straight to your local video store walk up to the clerk look directly into his or her eyes and say "give me anything with Jean Claude Van Dame!". But if looking for gem of a movie, Infernal Affairs is it. Even though you won’t see Andy and Tony in an all out shoot out nor display Van Dame like kicks instead you will be on the edge of your seat and experience a thriller that pushes the limits of the duality of man, a struggle of the human soul and the distinctive perception of two different colliding worlds. And that’s what makes movies like this work and make em that damn good as the people behind this flick kept the story fresh and exciting by adding texture and making it as much about Ming and Yan’s psychological states as it is about the action.
What starts off with two tragic heroes vying for respect in their world ends in a showdown of two willing survivors battling not for supremacy, but for adequacy and an identity. “Infernal Affairs” is a conglomerate of outstanding performances and a fresh take on an old idea. To sum it all up would to just basically say that it is a masterpiece of true cinema unleashed.
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